Transmaterial

Saturday, December 01, 2007

New Website Address

Transmaterial now has its own website, located at www.transmaterial.net. Please change your internet bookmarks as necessary. Also, Transmaterial 2: A Catalog of Materials That Redefine Our Physical Environment is currently being printed, and is scheduled to ship January, 2008.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Topo Table

TOPO is a series of Corian tables with built-in reconfigurable landscapes. Plastic inserts drop into the table to create functional topographies. TOPO uses rapid-prototyping technology in a way that enables each table to be different, and customers color in the areas where they want inserts placed in the finished product. These inserts sit in the holes and can be swapped out and rearranged. The little hills and valleys are made of plastic that is formed over real rocks. When not in use, these functional land forms invert to become sculptural mountains. According to designer Scott Franklin, “We spend a lot of time sitting at tables, so it’s nice to have some basil planted nearby.” [Contact: NONdesigns, LLC, Los Angeles, CA.]

Labels: 06, landscape, multidimensional, plants, plastic, table

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Clampology

Clampology is a family of informal objects designed to increase functionality of interior spaces. Manufactured by London-based designer Jorre van Ast of plastic and spring steel, the collection of adaptive utensils for the domestic environment include a bookend accompanied by a “book finger," a book display, a hook and a rail that clamp onto the side of horizontal surfaces, a hook to clamp onto electrical pipes, a candle holder, and a cable manager that can be clamped onto a table leg. [Contact: Jorre van Ast, London, UK.]

Labels: 12, intelligent, plastic, support

Friday, November 09, 2007

Printed Food

Printed Food is an edible material that provides a way to convey the nutritious elements of food to consumers in an extremely compact, visually appealing, and information-rich manner. Developed by Chef Homaro Cantu, Printed Food has a number of possible applications, including the delivery of nutritional supplements and ingestible pharmaceuticals, as well as for promotional and advertising uses.

he manufacturing process of Printed Food allows for the incorporation of text and images, such as the food ingredients, directly on digestible food. Instructions for usage, references, and storage information may also be included. Chef Cantu even “serves” a dinner menu as Printed Food. Printed Food’s stability, compact nature, and innovative communication capability make it an ideal food source for people in extreme environments, such as outer space or countries with severely limited resources. [Contact: Homaro Cantu Designs, Chicago, IL.]

Labels: 11, food, interfacial, paper

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Reben

Developed by Japan-based Suzuran Corporation, Reben is an environmentally remediating paint made from 100 percent natural ingredients. Created as a response to sick-building syndrome and poor indoor-air quality, Reben emits no harmful volatile organic compounds and actually cleans the air.

The environmentally friendly coating, which means “alive” in German, is comprised of powdered Japanese washi paper, seaweed glue, scallop-shell powder, titanium dioxide, and natural pigments. Washi naturally controls humidity, absorbing moisture during the summer and releasing it during the winter. Scallop-shell powder prevents mold and bacteria growth, as well as flame-spread. Titanium dioxide acts as a photocatalyst, deodorizing the air and absorbing pollution when the paint surface is illuminated.

Despite its completely natural and edible composition, Reben is a durable coating that is preferable to wallpaper. Its textured surface conveys a plasterlike richness, and it is available in a variety of textures, colors, and integrated natural grasses. Reben has no chemical glues or dyes that would negate its positive effects. [Contact: YDNY, New York / JPHome.net.]

Labels: 09, intelligent, natural, paint, self-cleaning

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Kerrigan Architectural Tile

Kerrigan ceramic architectural tiles are the result of Chicago-based designer Bryan Kerrigan's methodical exploration of dimensionality and texture of the ceramic tile. Designed and manufactured using high-temperature-fired stoneware clay, the tiles are very durable for both interior and exterior applications in all climates.

Beginning his work with ceramics in the early nineties, Kerrigan developed pottery and sculpture with fluid, organic shapes. His experiments in ceramic art led to the development of hand-sculpted tiles for architectural applications. Noting the extent to which the subtlest alterations of plan and edge affected the dimension of the forms, Kerrigan embarked upon several years of thorough ceramics research in order to produce his current collection. [Contact: Bryan Kerrigan, Chicago, IL.]

Labels: 09, ceramics, mineral, multidimensional, tile

Hanabi

Like the Lotus flower, which opens its petals in the presence of the sun and closes them in its absence, Hanabi opens its lamp-shade "petals" when its bulb is turned on and closes them after it has been shut off. Representing an innovative use of shape-memory alloy, the heat of the bulb makes the metal "bloom" whenever the fixture is illuminated. Hanabi is the Japanese word for fireworks and literally means flower fire. Like its namesake, the Hanabi light flickers between beauty and disappearance, embodying the Japanese appreciation of ephemerality. [Contact: Nendo, Tokyo, Japan.]

Labels: 26, light, metal, shape-memory, transformational

New materials are transforming our physical environment.

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